The Journey of a Man
by Urimizo
Summary: Many people quest out into the world to find their place and to show what they are capable of. For Finn, his quest starts on his 18th birthday; the day he became a man.
1. Chapter 1

Finn awoke with the warm sun shining in his face. This was a special day for the young warrior, for today was his 18th birthday. The day where he was no longer a boy, but a full fledged adult, and he felt good. The boy jumped out of his sleeping bag and stretched, excited for the day to come. The air smelled of cooked eggs and bacon; Jake was cooking breakfast.

Descending down the ladder from the bedroom to where the kitchen was located, the boy saw the magical dog working over their stove, a smile on his face.

"Hey hey! Theres the birthday boy now!" His hands carried two plates holding a mountain of eggs with a layer of bacon covering them. His arms twisted and extended their way to the table, where the two quickly sat down next to each other. "Of course, I can't call ya a boy anymore. Today, you become a man!" He cheered, covering his plate with ketchup. Finn smiled and began to eat his way through his meal.

"Thanks man, that means a lot coming from you." The adventurer responded, shoveling his food into his mouth. Jake, now already finishing his food nodded.

"No problem dude." The dog wiped his mouth clean with the tablecloth as Finn did the same to his, their platters now clean and their stomachs full. "But now that you're an adult now, you're gonna have a lot more responsibilities. You're gonna have to look out for others, and not just yourself."

"Don't I already do that?"

"Yeah man, just messing with ya." The two laughed heartily, the reason the two lived together was because they got along so well with each other. What little they didn't have in common they resolved amongst themselves to avoid annoying the other. They were family to each other. One would look out for the other's back, and viceversa. Whenever danger loomed, the other would be right there to help fight. This was how they lived, and they loved every second of it.

"So what do ya wanna do today, brother?" Jake asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Finn stroked his chin in thought, he wanted to spend today the best way he knew how.

"I was hoping to pay Princess Bubblegum a visit if that's alright." Finn said after a minute. Jake smiled in between sips of his drink.

"It's not my call dude, you're an adult now, go to wherever your heart goes." He paused to put down his drink. "I was gonna spend the day cleaning up, then heading on over to Rainicorn's to see what she's up to."

"Alright man...wait, you clean?" Finn seem weirded out, he never knew Jake as one to suddenly clean house unless he had a valid reason. "You gonna invite Lady Rainicorn over later tonight?" He poked slyly at his canine friend, who laughed before scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I am. So see if Bubblegum can't have you over for the night! You're 18, and she's 23. You two have been friends for years, and nothing's been going on between you two! Get in the game, man!" Jake encouraged, causing the young man to blush solemnly.

"Don't make it sound like that! It's just...I don't know, I feel like...I feel like I don't want to mess up again. She's always seen me as this little child whose only worth her time to go on adventurers for her. I want her to see me as a man...and now she can!" He sounded more assured, raising his fist. "I'm a man now. I'm not that 13 year old silly boy anymore! I'm going to show her what I've become!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit dude! Now get over there and win her heart! And then all of her other internal organs!" The two bumped fists before the adventurer grabbed his gear and sprinted out the door towards the Candy Kingdom. Just before the boy was out of earshot, Jake leaned out the door.

"Make sure you bring protection!"

...

Finn stood in front of the vast gates entering into the Candy Kingdom. The walls made up of reinforced graham crackers and frosting made the city almost impenetrable, with a chocolate bar drawbridge for entry. The kingdom was alive and well, it's citizens going about their daily activities and chores. It was a good day to be out and about. Rising above all the houses and business, stood the Candy Castle, housing the hierarchy of the Candy Kingdom and it's workers.

Running up the flight of stairs leading up to the front doors to the castle, Finn knocked loudly on the wafer doors. A moment passed before the doors cracked open, and Peppermint Butler stuck his head out.

"Ah Finn! Good to see you! If you're looking for the Princess, she's in the throne room addressing to some current business, she won't take long." The candy butler opened the door for the adventurer and closed it behind them both. Now they both stood in the main hall of the castle, heavily decorated to fit the style and history of the Candy Kingdom's royal family. Rugs and carpets covered the marble floors, while paintings and armaments hung up on the walls. Each had their own plate depicting the item's history and value to the kingdom.

"Do you enjoy culture, Master Finn?" The butler asked inquiringly. "I think of it as a necessity really. Without culture, a civilization is just a bunch of warring husks. No minds, no joy. Nothing to amuse themselves with but bloodshed and their own primitive desires. Leaving their minds to waste, with their bodies soon after. Disgusting." The butler realized where he was again. "Oh, but look at me, babbling on like some sort of historian." The two arrived at another large pair of doors. "The Princess is through here, Master Finn. I must return to my butlerly duties now." He excused himself and wandered down another hall, leaving the warrior to his own.

Finn was familiar with most of the castle, being in it numerous times and occasionally exploring the inner recesses of it in his youth. The throne room was no acception. He had been in here many times before to meet the Princess, to receive assignments, and a few times when he crept in during royal meetings the Princess occasionally held.

Today, there was a couple of knights kneeing before the Princess of the Candy Kingdom, Princess Bubblegum. She and Finn had been friends since the boy had rescued her from an evil frost wizard almost a decade ago.

"It would seem rash to send away a unit of soldiers just to protect a rural colony, too suspicious. I'm going to send in a recon team to help overlook production and see if they can find out what's going on." The Princess said, addressing to the knights. The candy girl had matured now as she was becoming a full adult. She had taken on more responsibilities as Princess of the kingdom and was now in charge of even more important matters, such as sending aid to distressing villages, and declaring war.

"Yes, Your Highness. Shall we resume our duties protecting the gate as well?" On of the knights asked, looking up from his spot.

"As you wish, Sir Antony. Make it look like nothing's changed. Just in case someone or someTHING is out there." With a wave of her hands, the soldiers dismissed themselves and left the room. It was at this time that the Princess noticed Finn.

"Finn! What a lovely surprise!" She said, approaching the warrior. "I haven't seen you in days!" Finn chuckled nervously.

"Yeah well, I've been busy taking care of stuff. You know, the usual business." Bubblegum giggled.

"Yeah yeah, the USUAL business!" She gave a playful pat on the shoulder. "So what brings you to the kingdom today?"

"Well uh...just thought I'd come around you know, it's my birthday and al-"

"Oh glob! I forgot! Wait right here, Finn! I've got something for you!" The Princess said, flustered. She ran out through a side hallway and returned a few minutes later, holding a plate with a sheet over it. "It might not be much, but I do hope you like it..." She pulled off the cloth to reveal a neatly folded velvet tunic. "It's sort of a prototype chestguard I've been cooking up the past couple of weeks. I know you always go out on adventures and stuff, and...I worry that you don't like to wear armor an-"

"I love it, Princess. Thank you." Finn accepted the gift and threw it on. As soon as the fibers connected to his skin, blue bolts of electricity shot over the clothing, alerting the boy. "Whoa whoa whoa! What is this? Princess?" The pink girl smiled and nodded calmly.

"Good, I was hoping it'd be accustomed to you. This isn't just a tunic, Finn. I've modified it to enhance the skin cells in your body; as long as you wear this tunic, your skin is as strong as solid rock! You can withstand fire, swords, even small explosions!" The Princess seemed to become more excited the more she talked. "And this is just the prototype! Who knows what I might be able to create with more materials to work with! I could very well create an impervious suit of armor! NOTHING will be able to harm my warriors!" She caught her breath, calming herself down. Finn looked at her, freaked out by the sudden outburst.

"Ehehe, uh yeah. Thanks for the armor...?" The Princess snapped back to reality.

"Oh, of course Finn. It was my pleasure. But I would like to ask you something. The materials needed to help fabricate this kind of technology comes from a mine far off to the south. In there, there is this special kind of metal only found in scarce traces. My workers have been drilling and mining for months in this mine and have actually been able to accumulate a large amount of this element. Unfortunately, we lost contact with the miners a couple weeks back and are expecting the worse. I hate to send you into potential danger, but I desperately need this element to continue my research. Will you do it?"

Finn pulled out the collar of the fabric, it was soft, but durable.

"What's this element you keep talking about? What does it do?"

"This element doesn't exactly have a name yet. We discovered it doing some development along the southern swamplands. One of the miners came into contact with it and his body was instantly solidified!" The warrior seemed alerted by this news.

"How were you able to handle it? And why aren't I petrified?"

"We noted that what the prospector touched was a highly concentrated ore vein of the element. In smaller doses, it can actually adapt to surrounding organic matter, making it stronger without any undesirable side effects. So I embedded that concentration using some biotec fibers, hence the blue lighting, and put THOSE fibers into the stitching that make up that tunic you're wearing. Took us a number of tries to get it right though, and don't worry, we didn't test on any LIVE creatures."

"Are you afraid something might've happened to them? What are these swamps like?" The hero asked. Bubblegum suddenly looked concerned.

"The way to get them is no problem, it's getting in and out of the swamps that is hazardous. Think of it like this: theres fog everywhere, you're sweating so much everything on you is sticky. Theres bugs flying all around your face, and just when you think it can't get any worse, you step into something unpleasant. This can be one of two things; #1: Disgusting bog water filled with a bunch of microbacteria that will seep into any open wound or cut, and #2: barely noticable quicksand that'll suck you right in if there isn't anyone to help you. I can only imagine the horror one must feel dying like that. The last automated field reports sent back include them sending out a distress signal right before our communication signal went dead. This is why I'm concerned, not just for the miners, but for you too Finn." The Princess looked solemnly at the warrior. The tension in the room was thick.

"I'll go check on those people, PB. You can count on me." Finn said calmly. He was never personally fond of venturing into swamps, but there was never one he never made it out of. The Princess seem rejoiced by his response.

"Oh, thank you, Finn! But please, do be careful. I don't want to lose anymore people because of my bad calls. And well...I don't want to lose you either..." Her voice drifted off as she rubbed her shoulder timidly. Finn blushed, but nodded.

"I'll come back, Princess. I won't let anything get in my way." His voice carried enough assurance to calm the Princess down some.

"I trust you Finn, it's just whatever might be out there I don't trust. Just please, promise me you'll be careful."

"I will, PB. Your armor will help protect me." He smiled warmly. Bubblegum wiped back a tear as she walked over and gave the warrior a hug. The two's eyes locked for a moment. The current moment was sudden, not something Finn was expecting. The hero's mind frantically searched for a response to the situation.

On instinct, the hero leaned in closer, brushing his lips against the Princess's. The girl seemed surprised by the sudden approach, but returned the gesture nonetheless. The two were locked together for a moment, enjoying the warmth the other brought, hoping this wasn't the last time they would be able to share a moment like this. Finn pulled his head back, the two blushing mildly. He was proud of what he did. With a nod and turn, he strode out of the castle, the feeling of Bubblegum giving him the knowledge that someone else looked forward to his return.


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping outside the castle, Finn felt determined. He was a man, ready to take on anything the world threw at him. He felt good...until he realized his only ride to the swamp was likely stuck dusting shelves right now. Finn slapped his forehead annoyed. The swamp Bubblegum had mentioned was at least a three day hike on foot. Him and Jake would've been there in half that at least. He needed a source of transportation, something fast and manly.

Suddenly, a shriek of an animal came from the sky as a giant winged creature blocked out the sun and stood in front of Finn, it's talons fully extended and it's head held high. The bird wore a crown that matched Princess Bubblegum's almost exactly.

"Bubblegum's Morrow! This is perfect! Wait...this is too perfect..." Finn arched an eyebrow, wondering how good his luck really was seeing the Princess's bird appear before him at such an opportune moment. The giant bird began to peck at it's ankle, which Finn noticed had a piece of paper tied to it. Unraveling the parchment, Finn was easily able to see that the note was from Bubblegum.

"_Finn, the Southern Swamplands are treacherous, and the journey is long. I can make armor to protect you, but I can not make you something to help get you there. This is where my Morrow comes in. His orders are to help escort you to and from the swamps. The Morrow is a proud , if not vain creature. It dislikes getting it's feathers dirty. But while I pray the situation does not call for it, the Morrow will fight, often to the death, to protect it's owners from danger. I do not know what may be out there, but I want you to know I shall keep you in my prayers until your return. I have installed a guidance crystal onto the Morrow's crown to help direct you on your way._

_~Princess Bubblegum_

Beside the girl's signature was an imprint of lips, colored pink. Finn didn't need to think long to know who those lips belonged to. He smiled warmly as he tucked the letter away into his pocket and mounted the bird. With a loud cry, the bird jumped, it's impressive wings starting to flap, kicking up dust and debris before darting off into the sky. Only a tiny speck in the sky.

...

Finn hid his head underneath his backpack, but it was only able to shield his eyes from the sun's harmful rays as he flew across the vast expanse of desert he needed to cross to arrive to his destination. The boy was thankful for the Morrow's stamina. It didn't even seem to mind the crippling heat and little protection the passing wisps of clouds had to offer. Never one to be unprepared for strong climates, Finn unzipped his backpack and pulled out a canister, filled with water. He downed half of it in an instant, and slipped it back in, saving the rest for later.

"How can a swamp be this close to a freaking desert and not be anything but a puddle?" Finn said in his head, wiping some sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. For hours, it seemed, the hero had flown over dunes and rolling hills of nothing but golden sand, under the beating sun. "Nothing but sand, sand, and more sa-! There we go!" Just over a hill, the hero had spotted the beginnings of a forest, with luscious, thick trees and overgrown vegetation that seemed to outgrow some of the trees. "If the Princess is this worried, then something nasty's gotta be in there. Just another notch on my sword." He said confident, drawing his blade. It's rusted surface showed signs of age and times of hard fought battles in Finn's youth. He never left home without it, never knew when a sword would come in handy. More often than not, Finn was forced to use it to help defend himself and others around him from whatever evil threatened them. It had character; more worth to Finn than any other object he owned.

"Take me to where the distress signal was last broadcasted." Finn said to the Morrow. It squawked in response and narrowed itself into a bullet shape. Dipping lower over the canopy, Finn was able to see into the swamp, the amount of greenery proved difficult to spot anything. "The tree's are too thick to see anything. We gotta get lower. Land us in the closest clearing you can find." The boy ordered, the bird cawwed again and drew up it's wings, slowing the pair down until they found a spot of land where the trees were less clustered together, forming a quaint little landing pad where the bird set it's feet into the soft grass.

Upon landing, Finn could immediately feel the humidity sky rocket. His breathing began to get heavier, as the moisture in the air weighed down his movements. Every action seemed to require more muscle, more force to advance.

"Geez...I think I prefer the desert..." Finn sighed, attempting to wipe his face clean of sweat, and failing to do so. "At least then...I could actually breath..." The bird cawwed again as if to respond to Finn's complaint. "Nevermind, let's get moving. According to the tracking device, the signal came from a ways north of here..." Finn pulled out the hand-held device he received earlier for the mission, showing the direction of the miner's camp. It was in the shape of a pocket watch and had a glowing green arrow pointing due north, towards the distress beacon. "Move out!" Finn called, sword leading the way.

The swamp was as exactly as Princess Bubblegum described, if Finn wasn't constantly checking his footing for loose ground or hidden quicksand, he was swatting away at his skin at the constant swarm of bugs that were attacking him. The Morrow, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine walking in such a dismal atmosphere, taking it upon himself to eat the insects that were attacking Finn. The radar pointing in the same direction, until they were within viewing distance of the campground.

"That's gotta be it!" Finn exclaimed, relieved that the hour of swatting away at bugs and trekking through swamp water had payed off. Up ahead, he found the abandoned encampment of the geologists and miners Bubblegum had explained. It was a fairly well sized camp, with equipment set up to help light and survey the area, or to ward off harmful predators. Writing utensils and other assorted equipment was scattered around messily, as if thrown around and dropped. Behind this was a grouping of what Finn thought to be where the personnel slept. Torn articles of tent lining were scattered around or charred, with empty cots both slashed apart or stained with what appeared to be blood set into them.

"This wasn't an accident, they were attacked!" He said out loud, realizing the situation he was in. "If whatever did this is still in the area, then-" Before Finn could finish, he sensed another's presence behind him. Drawing his sword, he whirled around quickly only to find the Morrow looking at him quizingly, the bird's sharp, yellow eyes piercing into his own. The boy shuddered. "Don't do that to me, man. Not cool." Finn mentally scolded himself for being freaked out by a bird.

As Finn investigated more of the camp, he began to see more signs that made his skin crawl. Torn pieces of clothing, charred or singed spots on some of the equipment, as if someone had thrown fire. Mining tools had been broken, along with the machinery, which looked to have been beaten down with heavy blunt objects. Some broken glass and splintered wood here and there, it had the signs of a large scale raid.

"What could possibly be out here in the middle of a swamp that could have the mental fortitude to even use a weapon efficiently? Maybe it was a traitor among the workers? No, it would have to be a complete uprising for something like that. And what happened to the faculty? There were no bodies to be seen." Finn thought to himself, approaching another tent, larger than the others and surprisingly in fairer condition. The interior was dark, but well kept. As if someone had made a temporary work station in here. A computer was set up on a desk in the center of the tent, with filing cabinets behind it.

"This must've been where the head geologist was set up." Finn said, cautious of the calmness the room gave off. A small crystal was placed next to the computer, giving off a faint pink light. "A recording crystal!" Finn grabbed at the small shard and squeezed it in his palm, activating the most recent message.

A tall woman sat in front of the crystal, she had grey, wavy long hair and brown tinted glasses. She sported a labcoat and wore the look of fatigue and absolute dread on her face.

"Hello, I am Dr. Leonal," Her voice was fraught with worry and fear. "I am the head researcher in geological activity and resourcing for the Candy Kingdom. My team and I, along with a handful of miners, were sent to this goddamn sanctioned zone of hell to investigate and harness the minerals that were recently discovered in this location. It all started out well and good, a few accidental contacts with the rocks, some scrapes and cuts, all of that could be handled with our medicinal staff. But one day, one of the mining drills just suddenly blew up, taking out the driver. None of us knew what happened, there was no warning, no smoke, just a horrid explosion. Many of us thought it off as an equipment malfunction and sent out a message back to the Kingdom to extract the body and to offer our hearts and prayers to the family." She took in a breath to collect herself, her body shook.

"We...we only began to take notice to what was going on a week after the incident. Another mining drill caught fire and just exploded! It took out two more of our workers and completely freaked out the rest of us. It didn't make any sense, how could two high tech mining drills, one not even running, just suddenly explode? Some thought it was sabotage, rumors began to spread around the camp, no one would look at each other while they ate dinner. I even heard some dreadful sayings of how I was using faulty machinery on purpose and make money off of the dead through lawsuits. We did the best we could to put down these rumors, and it worked for the most part, but I could still feel their eyes glaring daggers into the back of my head. We were all spooked." She rested her head in her arms, breathing in and out slowly before resuming.

"The third day after the second explosion, one of the staff drew a terrible fever. He started hacking up his lungs and vomiting nonstop, it was a horrid sight. His skin was cold, and his pulse grew weak. The medical team didn't know what the hell was happening to the poor man, calling it some kind of freakish jungle flu. They doped him up with enough antibiotics and pills to flush out his system and then some. He didn't live to see the end of the week." Her eyes dropped to the side, looking down into the corner of the room before looking back into the crystal. "Anyway, it was not long before this sickness seemed to run rampant through the camp, it was complete chaos. Those who didn't die from the sickness were quickly becoming paranoid they were to be next, or that someone was doing this on purpose, as an experiment. Namely, I was to blame for this." A loud noise could be heard off screen as the doctor's eyes widened in astonishment. After a moment, the room was calm again.

"Anyway, what little remained of the work force stopped working all together, saying the rocks were causing the illness, even though our test results showed they were clearly not responsible of any illness of this caliber. Many ran off, assuring the others they would find a way out of this place and find help, seeing as how 'The scientists are just sitting on their asses and laughing at our struggle!'" She mimicked, using a gruff and unintelligent sounding voice. "I'm sure none of them made it out that far. Bunch of idiots." Another noise was heard off screen, this time it was louder and persisted longer. The doctor crouched down underneath the desk until the sounds went away.

"I-I'm sorry, I need to wrap this up quickly. Everything that happened was the work of a band of tribal people that were somehow living right near us this whole time. They seem to have their own language, but can speak in broken bits and pieces of English. They share our body structure, but have a somewhat turqoise pigment in their skin. They have purple hair, green and purple spots on their skins with golden stripes along their arms and legs which I believe are tribal tattoos. I've only seen a few of them as they attacked the encampment earlier this morning, and they didn't get very far. Thank God Brandon was such a great shot, may he rest in peace. They have these poison tipped arrowheads, and can shoot at us without even noticing their presence That's how they got Jessie and Carol, along with the few that tried to run away. It makes my skin crawl knowing what else they were capable of without our knowledge. They were right next to us this entire time and they didn't kill us out right. They let us suffer, die slowly. Maybe it's the scientist mind inside me, but if I somehow live through this, I would love to study these creatures, whatever their intentions may be." Voices could be heard now off screen, murmuring and the sound of movement. The doctor seemed visibly upset now.

"It was only a matter of time before the camouflage barrier ran outta juice..." She looked back into the crystal, looking at Finn directly. "If any intelligent life form gets this message, please return this crystal to the Candy Kingdom due north of this camp. I've encrypted the coordinates into my computer, along with the rest of the research information we uncovered along with information on those deceased, I just hope my name won't have to be added to it. And also, I hope you're a hell of a fighter, because whoever these bastards are, they won't go down easy, and they're out for blood. This is Doctor Leonal signing out, goodbye." With that, the video recording cut off and the crystal's light faded, leaving Finn alone to his thoughts.

"So the team was attacked after all. Doctor Leonal must've sent off the beacon after she hid herself inside the tent." Finn swallowed a bit of anxiety caught in his throat. "And dragged away by those tribal people afterwards..."

Outside the tent, the Morrow began to cry out frantically, alerting the boy. He threw the crystal and laptop into his backpack and made his way out of the tent to find the giant bird suspended from a net hanging from a tree branch.

"It's a trap!" Finn said, pulling out his sword. Up above, the bird was struggling against the tight ropes that held it. "Morrow, shut it! You're gonna give us aw-!" Suddenly, an arrow shot out of the woods directly at Finn's chest. His arms raised in front of him to block himself, but he felt it hit him right in the gut. He was expecting a sharp twinge of pain, but surprisingly felt nothing from the shot. Finn looked down and saw that the arrow had snapped in two upon contact with his clothing.

"Bubblegum's tunic!" He had completely forgotten he was wearing it, and thanks to it he now stood a better chance against his assailant. "Come on! You call that a shot? Get out here and fight me like a man, you wuss!" He called out all around him. Behind him, he heard the sound of leaves moving and the air beginning to whistle. Another arrow hit him in the side, snapping in two just as the first one did. Finn was now more worried, there was more than one now. He had to keep sure they didn't hit his neck or legs which remained uncovered. He needed to think the situation over more carefully, he couldn't see the people attacking him or how many there actually are, but he knew they were out there.

Another arrow shot at him, he was able to block this one with his sword. Two more from behind, one cut through his backpack, the other one, his shoulder. He still remained unharmed.

"Fight like men, you cowards! I can take all you on!" The boy readied himself for another barrage of arrows, feeling his grip tighten around the hilt of his blade got his senses raging. He was ready to fight. Movement was heard behind him. Quick, light footsteps increasing in frequency came from behind the warrior, who turned to see a rush of blue and purple fly through the air, shooting off arrows at him. Covering his head from the attacks, the arrows bent and broke against his armor, which held up against the ambush. However, one hit him in the thigh, it only punctured the skin slightly, but he could feel the poison that tipped the arrow's head start to flow into his blood.

"You...you cowards!" Finn's breathing became more labored as the poison began to sap his strength. "Using a handicap against just one opponent!" His vision began to get blurred and he began to have trouble standing. "That's...so...weak..." Finn collapsed, the poison worked amazingly quickly as he could no longer feel his arms and legs. One of the hunters slowly approached the boy, kneeling over his face. The hunter showed no signs of anger, but of a strange interest in the human.

"Bek tung mal rog." Finn heard the tribal call to one of the others. He felt his body being moved and hauled over someone's shoulder, his mind slowly leaving his body. Not knowing what might happen to him.

...

Finn's head throbbed, which was a sign that he was still alive so he was relieved somewhat. It was just a matter of where he was that now concerned him. What did he know? He was half naked, thanking whomever he still had on his trousers, his equipment was gone, and his joints were aching from the poison's paralysis effects.

"Dammit, taken out by an arrow. Way to go, Finn..." He cursed, not wanting to open his eyes for fear of making his headache even worse. Despite this, he peaked open one eye to find out exactly where his captors had taken him. He was surrounded by bars made up of wood and vines, he was obviously in some type of cage. Off in the distance a ways, he could see...more of the tribesmen! The hero pushed himself up, running a hand through his blond hair and doing his best to regain full consciousness. His body ached, but he need to move to best analyze the situation he was in. These people might've gotten a lucky shot off on him, but he refused to let it happen again.

"Hey! Hey! Are you actually real! Someone actually came for us!" Finn turned around to see a beaten old piece of candy corn trapped in the cage with him. It was one of the scientists! The man seemed to have been given worser treatment than Finn, sporting a black eye, some cuts and bruises, and a few teeth were missing from his smile. "I'm Doctor Anton, I was assigned to conduct research on this new element we had discovered in this supposedly lifeless part of swamplands." Finn was amazed that there was another survivor other than him.

"If you were part of the team then you were there during the attack! What happened?" The frail man seemed to shrink down even more so.

They...I think I'm the only original member of the team that's still alive. The others were either slaughtered in the attack or...I dare not think about it." His beard swayed as he pulled his knees to his chest. "They came out of no where. It was too early in the morning for many of us to have been awake. The first attack started when they began to fire arrows from the forest. It was like a storm of streaking wood and stone hurtling at our campground. Some were dipped in poison, some were lit on fire, but they all were either maimed or killed." His voice was quivering as he resisted hard the urge to weep.

"After the first attack, what survivors left standing either fled into the swamp, or tried to mend to the wounded. I...I hid behind some of the mining equipment, it was the only thing I could do!"

"You ran off to hide while the rest of your team tried to help the wounded! You're a damn coward!" Finn pointed, accusingly.

"And what could I have done to help? I'm a scientist, and at my age, I'm lucky they didn't just kill me outright! They have a plan for me...and they have a plan for you! That's why they've kept us alive! They know we're worth something to someone, so they're going to keep us as hostages! They're going to torture us and...!" Finn left the old man to babble about, he needed a way to get out of this cage, and out of this swamp.

"The Morrow!" He recalled, the last he saw the bird, the hunters had captured it in a net. Who knows how long ago that was, or if it's still alive now. "If worse comes to worse, I gotta find another way out of here. But to do that, I'm gonna need to find anot-" His chain of thought was broken as he heard two of the hunters approach the cage. They both had similarly painted tattoos on their hands and arms as the ones he encountered earlier. One of them held a large bow on their back while the other was armed with a spear, decorated with feathers from whatever other animal lurked in the swamp.

"Gan! Mek no torak bel mashan!" The tribesman with the spear said through gritted teeth. He pointed the spear at Finn and poked at him with it. The other, seeing this, waved his hand and shook his head for him to stop. He slowly approached Finn, who was clearly taller than the 18 year old lad.

"You...not like other people from before." The warrior spoke in bits of English. His voice was deep, but somewhat friendly, something Finn had not expected. "Skin...lighter than others. Put up more fight than others. You, come to Princess. We talk more there." He took a pair of keys from the back of his loin cloth and unlocked the bars. Finn was about to step out before he heard someone call to him.

"No! Don't go just yet!" It was the candy corn from earlier, still sitting in his corner of the cell. Finn walked over and knelt in front of the old scientist. "I don't know what they want with you, but it doesn't matter. You're free! They seem to like you more than me anyway, the only time they unlocked the cage for me was when they stabbed at me with those spears or beat me up. Anyway, I've worked out a plan, that will get payback on these savages for what they did to us and the mining team!"

"Go on..." Finn said cautiously, not wanting to make the guards worry.

"These creatures took away some of our mining equipment when they attacked the camp. Some of this equipment included some drilling machines used to bore through the mountain. Inside these machines is a highly volatile core normally used as an energy source. But it also has an emergency meltdown switch, in case of dire emergencies, I think this fits into that category quite nicely. If you can get close enough to these machines and set off that switch, you can send the core into a meltdown, and detonate this entire freakish landscape into a massive crater!"

Finn's eyes widened in astonishment. "And what after that? How fast would I have to run to get out of here to avoid the explosion?"

"This was only supposed to be activated remotely, but these cores were installed to be able to activate manually. You'd have about five or so minutes from the tests I conducted with the failsafe. If you forgot to grab anything before activating it, you'd best hope you didn't need whatever it'd be. It's too late for me, but just having the knowledge of having this hellhole being blown into a charred, irradiated crater is enough to keep my soul at rest."

Finn looked concernedly at the old piece of candy before standing back up and turning his back. He went with the warriors who stood in their positions outside of the cage, weapons now aimed at his back in case of any sudden attempts of running. Now, the blond hero was able to see the entirety of the tribal camp. This wasn't just a couple of huts and a bonfire; he could see entire rows of houses, made out of wood and leaves. There was a building with two sets of shields and spears on opposite ends of the door, most likely the armory. Ahead, he could see a trail of smoke steadily rise in the air from behind an even larger building than the others. It had decorations, paintings and cloths draped over windows and colored marks lining the walls outside of it. The two tribals behind Finn stopped shortly before entering the construct.

"We...wait out here. You go in, talk with Princess. She decide if we like you or no." The man with the bow said, pointing ahead at the building before them. "Ashalle be with you, boy." Finn was slightly irritated by the name the tribal gave him, but followed his instructions regardless.

The interior had been even more lavishly decorated as the outside was. Skins of slain beasts and monsters were hung from the walls as furs from others covered the floors. It reminded Finn of home in a way. The walls, the floors, the homey feeling the room gave him a sense of welcoming, which must've explained why he didn't feel as anxious as he thought he'd be. Torches lit his way down a narrow hallway, doors to his left and right, but if he knew anything, it was that castles, no matter what shape they were, were universally designed similarly. Straight ahead of him was the throne room, just as he expected it to be.

A stone throne encrusted in jewels sat alone in a room, furnished with pelts and armaments just as the other rooms were, but more carefully. Sitting in the chair was the first girl Finn had seen in the camp since his abduction. She looked exactly liked the other warriors of her tribe, but she had an additional bit of cloth wrapped around her chest, which didn't leave much to the imagination. She also sported a crown that sat on top of a skull that rested in her hair. Finn shuddered wondering how she managed to get it. It was also at this point that the boy remembered he had been stripped down to his underwear, feeling exposed to the girl that sat in front of him.

"I am Princess of Jungle...Swamp...whatever name you give it." She spoke like the guard from before, her English coming out in slow, short bits. "I am ruler, I ask for you to come, and you have." She threw him a sly smile and stood up, approaching the warrior. He stood his ground as she awaited a response.

"Your Highness, if you don't mind me asking...what IS all this? I would never have expected an entire civilization in the middle of a swamp. I also want to know if it really was your people who attacked those candy scientists." Jungle Princess lowered her head and shuffled her feet.

"This...this place is us. WE as people. We forced off of old home in jungle because of candy! We not savages, THEY savages! So we come here. We fight to survive, swamp accepts us. We help swamp, swamp help us. We live, live good, for many years. Protect swamp, swamp protect us. Then candy return. They bring in big, loud creatures. Threaten swamp! Threaten us! Would not stop! So we stop them before they could hurt swamp anymore..." Her voice writhed with anger the more she spoke, alarming Finn. "We protect swamp from candy! Candy bad! Candy force us out of jungle! Not out of swamp! Not again! We not ask for trouble! They start it, we finish! Swamp not only home, but friend." The girl became visibly upset as tears formed in her eyes. She wiped them off on her arm, calming down slowly.

"Those scientists and miners were innocent people, only following orders. They had no knowledge of you or your tribe ever living here. How can you justify murder for something that happened decades ago! There is no excuse for what your people did!" Finn retaliated, annoyed by the Princess's words. She raised her head at his outburst, her anger rising up once again.

"Your words MOCK my people! You DARE question what we do! In MY kingdom? We see how tough you candy lover be when we throw you in the ring! GUARDS!" The Princess yelled, her voice going through the entire building. Not long after, the two tribal men from before entered, pointing their weapons at Finn again. "Take candy lover to the ring! The swamp will feast well tonight!" She snarled, spitting at where Finn stood, who returned the gesture.

"Bring it on! I'll take on all of you! And after that, I'm coming after you, Princess!" He called out, being dragged by his arms out of the room.

The guards continued to drag the hero, his heels digging into the soft soil outside, until they reached a fence that was constructed of wooden beams, fence posts, and barbed wire. A makeshift barrier. Finn was chucked over the wall and landed on the barren ground on the other side.

Looking around, he could see stands surrounding him, filled to the brim with villagers and other tribesmen and women. Layers of seating encased around the lad, encompassing him in a sea of bloodthirsty fighters. Ahead of him was a single barred door, his only way out. Above that was where the high rise was located, where the Princess sat, surrounded by her group of guards and laborers. The two locked eyes as she sat forward in her chair, caressing her chin in her hand before making a motion at one of her minions, who quickly fetched her a horn made from a local creature's bones. Blowing into it, the noise trumpeted throughout the swamp, kicking up a flock of birds that flew over head. Standing up, she stared at the warrior before raising her hand.

"Yuph mone coreck dag'noth bal nursh! Mun'teck dun gop le gope! Pala Ashalle de knoth!" She called, the other tribals stood up and cheered.

"Pala Ashalle de knoth!" They called back. Finn guessed this was some kind of war cry for these people, who seemed rather eager for this kind of event. His attention was focused back to the Princess, who now pointed at him.

"You insult us in our home! You side with the candy! Your punishment be slow and painful! Your body feed the swamp well!" She turned around, raising the horn to her lips again. "Mvena bala vuela!" The door underneath the high rise began to slowly open as the gears beside it spun in their pedestals. A swarm of blue and purple tattood warriors, marched through the gateway into the arena, surrounding Finn. They were unarmored, but carried with them an array of weaponry from spears to swords, each pointed directly at Finn. He could feel their cold stares all around him, it was exciting. "Fight, boy! Fight and die! Vurunga mash fal!" Her voice echoed, spurring on the tribesmen.

"I've been waiting for this. If you guys are gonna fight like men this time, then come get some!" He called out, grinning.

A war cry was yelled out as one of the men came at Finn with his spear pointing straight out, but the boy was ready. Guessing his opponent's movements, he hit the spear to the ground, and followed up by stomping on it, snapping it in two, then lastly swinging upwards, clipping the tribal under the jaw and sending him back a ways.

"You better have had a plan there besides getting your butt whooped." The blond taunted, ducking underneath a swipe from another enemy's sword. His assailant got low to the ground, his fighting stance unfamiliar to the boy, who was expecting anything at this point. The sounds of feet came from behind again as Finn jumped away just in time to dodge a spear from piercing into his chest, the tip made up of stone that the hero could've sworn he recognized...it was the same stone the science team had been excavating!

"The natives are using it to make their weapons! Which means…" The first tribal came at him as the boy picked up the broken spear head off the ground, careful to not touch the stone directly. Dodging another attack, Finn countered by throwing the fragment of rock, connecting with his attacker and cutting through his arm. The man dropped his weapon and clutched his arm, a horrified look draining all the color in his face. From where the cut started, his blue skin began to stiffen, and turn pale. The man reached out to Finn, as if for help, his arm quickly became stone. His skin began to form into a layer of rock, as the rock's effect ran through his bloodstream to the rest of his body. He choked out one last prayer before he had transformed completely into a statue, his arm reached out, almost touching Finn.

The blond turned at the others, weapons still at the ready, disregarding the loss of a fellow companion. He picked up the weapon the petrified man dropped and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. "And so another falls. If any of you still have the guts to fight," The boy posed himself upright, his back straight and his shoulders broadened. "I'll take on every last one of you!"

Finn's adventurers had allowed the hero to hone and train his skills throughout his years with Jake. His ability to fight had even rivaled that of Princess Bubblegum's best knights. He was a warrior at heart, a true fighter. He fought for a purpose, whether it be to protect someone or himself, there was almost no one he could not beat. He did not fear dying, he feared letting down those he cared for. Now, he was fighting to make it back to the Candy Kingdom, to see Princess Bubblegum's smile once again. To feel her warmth. To be with her again. That was what he was fighting for now, he could not lose.

Two men came running at Finn, yelling out the same war chant the one from before did. Sidestepping a stab and blocking a swipe at his legs, he was able to bring up a jab into his attacker's ribs, following with a blow to the neck that knocked him out cold. The other swung at his neck, almost cutting the boy's hat. Finn picked up the unconscious tribal's sword and deflected another attack. Spinning around, he caught the man off-guard and made a clean cut over his back, solidifying him in seconds. Turning back to the tribesman from before, who was beginning to recover his bearings; Finn brought the sword over his head and pierced through the warrior's back, an instant kill.

"Come on you savages! Is this all you got?" Finn barked, his bloodied weapon in hand. The circle of tribals around him seemed uneasy, they slowly lowered their weapons and began to back off from the bloodthirsty human. Finn swung his sword over his head and in a circle, discouraging any further attack from the tribesmen. A horn bellowed again as the attention shifted back to Jungle Princess, standing up tall.

"You...fight like man...like us. Kill, show no mercy. You no fight us now...you fight Tiborn now!" She yelled through the animal bone. Her voice seemed to ignite a spark amongst the crowd as they once again rose up from their seats and started to cheer wildly. The remaining tribal warriors evacuated the arena and crawled up the walls as the gate in which they had entered began to open once again. This time however, a low, deep growl could be heard emanating from the other side of it. Something big was waiting for the second those gates to open to pounce. "Fight for life, candy lover! You feed the swamp well!"

The pounding of heavy feet ran towards Finn as a giant, snarling creature leaped out from the doorway and charged full speed at the blond warrior. It was the size of a rhino and was covered in a thick pelt of white fur. It's horns were long and showed a life of hardship and countless struggles for life. It's teeth, jagged and stained brown from the masses it had slain and feasted upon. The blond rolled out of the way just in time to avoid getting pounced and got in a fighting position. Other than his sword, he had nothing to defend himself with.

Timing the animal's speed, the hero jumped away from another charge and attempted to cut up it's legs. The beast's thick pelt seemed to cushion the impact between the sword and it's skin. The mangled fur even warded off the stone's petrification, acting like a natural deterrent. With a kick of it's massive foot, the beast knocked Finn a long ways away, and smashed his sword into pieces. The boy got up, shook off the dirt and recovered his bearings. His only means of a weapon was now under the foot of a hulking monster.

"I could really use the Princess's tunic right now..." He said to himself. The creature roared out, shaking the ground before charging again at Finn. "He's not just big, he's fast. I need something to slow him down." Barely dodging another lunge from the hulking beast, Finn rolled to the side and looked at his surroundings, looking for something to his advantage.

Just then, he could hear a rattling noise from the monster, coming from a chain attached to it's spiked collar. It dragged in between the thing's massive legs, thick as the trunks of trees. Finn needed that chain, it was the only thing he could think of to use, but he needed to get to it without being torn apart.

"You want some of this?" Finn called, turning around and shaking his rump at the large creature, who growled menacingly. "Come and get some, you freak!" He turned and ran as the monster gave chase, it's giant maw opening and closing shut behind him.

The hero darted around the coliseum, from left, to right, but the giant beast kept right on his tail, just what Finn was hoping for. Approaching the wall at full sprint, Finn raised his knee and carried himself up the wall just as the albino monster was opening it's jaws again. The beast's teeth punctured into the wire and steel wall and a cry could be heard rupturing from deep in the creature's throat as it lashed out and struggled to free itself from the barbed wire holding it in place and ripping through it's mouth.

Finn landed safely on top of the beast's head, relieved that his plan went as well as it did. "Let's see what you can do!" Finn said, smiling as he grabbed the long metal chain and pulled, hiking the monster onto it's hind legs, pulling barbed wire and splintering wood out of it's mouth and entangling it even more so in the animal's horns. The beast was in a fit of blind fury, blood flying out in ribbons as the gnarling creature shook it's head about, charging straight into the walls underneath the stands, causing the spectating tribals to cheer in excitement even more. Finn pulled with all his might on the leash in his hands to control the beast, who seemed to not even notice his presence, still ravaging about the stadium slamming into the barriers surrounding it. Meanwhile the crowd was in an uproar, hopping up and down in their seats, yelling out at Finn in their native tongue.

He was unsure of whether they were cheering for him or for the creature that was trying to eat him.

"Think of something, Finn! What would a man do here?" An idea came almost instantly to him, nodding approvingly of his new plan. Climbing down the monster's forehead, taking caution not to fall into it's gaping maw, Finn held the chain in hand and positioned himself over the creature's gleaming red eye. Nothing but seething rage stared back into the hero's eyes. "Eat this!" Finn said as he shoved his fist into the beast's eye, which was met with a loud, pained roar as the beast threw Finn off his face, snapping the worn chain in two.

Hitting the ground, the boy recovered quickly, shaking his hand off and getting ready for another assault from the beast. It let out roars of pain, stomping the ground with such ferocity it began to shake, stirring the crowd up even more. Proud his last minute plan worked out, Finn now needed another weapon. Spotting a splintered plank of wood and a section of barbed wire from where the beast smashed into the wall earlier, he wrapped the wire around the plank hastily and turned back to face the creature. He was ready for battle now.

"This bat won't be able to make it through this thing's fur. I'll have to aim for the eyes again, but I need to slow it down before I can get anywhere near it's face." Finn thought. The hulking animal was charging aimlessly across the arena, dragging with it debris from the surrounding wall, leaving a trail of broken wood and blood. A glimmering light pulled Finn's attention away for a moment, something on the ground near the center of the ring was casting an eerie light. Making sure to dodge the creature's blind fury, Finn was able to make his way to the piece of fractured stone from his sword, with the hilt still intact.

"A makeshift dagger, yeah, I can use this." He said, swinging his new weapon in front of him. "Now I just need to know how to use it..." The sound of thundering paws on the ground caught Finn's attention as he was thrown back from the furry beast's horns. Finn hit the ground hard as he quickly tried to find where the stone dagger fell. Luckily, it was only a few feet away from where he had landed.

Crawling back up, Finn equipped himself for the final assault on this massive beast that stood in front of him. Blood staining the animal's fur, roars of anger and anguish erupting from deep it's throat. Finn felt a sudden urge of sadness for the beast. It was being forced to go through this. He didn't want to know what other forms of fighting and torture these people put this creature through to serve their desires. Finn knew what he had to do, he was gonna put it out of it's misery.

Jumping back to avoid being thrown back again from the beast's horns, the blond warrior took up his stone dagger and brought it down as hard as he could into it's massive foot. The giant animal let out a pained cry as blood began to release from the wound. Finn was caught off guard as the beast let out a kick that threw the warrior off of his feet. Finn prayed that his plan would pull through.

Suddenly, the hulking creature stopped thrashing, it's attention now focused on it's foot, slowly changing color into a pale gray. It let out a frightened roar as it seemed to be attempting to shake off the infected limb, but the rock's toxin was now spreading out of the course of the animal's system. Its white, matted fur was now hardening into crystal-like shards that were snapping and falling off onto the ground. Finn's heart began to race as the giant began to panic now, thrashing around wildly. The weight of the beast came down on itself as it's petrified feet started to crack and break under the pressure. The pained calls of a tortured animal cut through the air as the beast fell onto it's side, the sound of it's own fur cracking as it collided with the dirt.

Now that the creature had finally been immobilized, Finn gripped his dagger and approached it. It's still functioning eye looked up desperately at Finn as he crept closer. The hero had his weapon at the ready, contemplating his next action.

"Nothing should go through the life you've gone through. I'm sorry I had to do this, it's for your own good." Finn raised his arm quiveringly over his shoulder. "You'll be much better off in the afterlife than living in this world." The beast's eye looked up at Finn and, for a split second, it seemed to understand the human. It seemed to have forgiven him.

"Right through the center, Finn. No need to make it suffer anymore than it already has..." The hero gulped down the remaining anxiety in his throat and brought down his arm in a single stroke, piercing straight through the giant creature's eye, blood and fluid shooting out from the wound. There was a shake from the creature, a lunging movement, and then it fell still. Never to move again.

Never to fight again.

Finn stood there, knelt over this massive animal, it's blood scattered around the arena and over Finn himself. He pulled out his dagger and threw it away, he didn't want to look at it anymore, or at what he had done. Finn knew the animal only fought him because that's how it was taught to survive, for these...savages' entertainment. His hands clenched, and his jaw tightened, he wanted to leave this place as fast as possible.

The thunderous roar of the crowd seemed to reel Finn back in. He had forgotten where he was. Every individual, man, woman, and child, was on their feet, cheering and whooping for the blond boy who had just slain this massive beast by himself. The trumpeting of a horn silenced the audience as attention was shifted back to Jungle Princess, who was still situated in the balcony overlooking the arena. She stood up, a pleased smile etched over her turqoise colored skin.

"You...have proved much to us, hyooman. You not like candy...you man! Fight like man, KILL like man! We...may be wrong about you, hyooman." She nodded at the two guards stationed near her as they left behind her, out of sight. Finn stepped toward her, battered and bloodied, half naked and tired, he wanted nothing more than to get out of there. "Join me in my hut. We talk more there..." With a wink and a turn, she left.

It didn't take the warrior long to reach the Princess's hut, remembering where it was from his earlier encounter, he made no plan to stay longer than he needed to. He was going to find PB's Morrow, get his belongings, and get the hell out of this swamp forever. Walking into the stone entrance and down the hollow corridor, the turqoise girl was sitting back in her throne, her head resting in her palm. Seeing Finn, she smiled slyly and stood up.

"I...was wrong about you. You...fight like man." She said, laying a hand on his shoulder. He could hear her take in a breath as she placed her head on his shoulder. "Smell like man..." Finn began to feel uncomfortable as she pushed her chest against his, remembering he was only in his underwear. He pulled back a ways to get some room in between them.

"Jungle Princess, I have proven myself to be stronger than any of your warriors and creatures. I want my possessions back so that I can leave this place and return home." He said, trying his best to remain civil in his current state. The tattooed princess cocked her head and gave a coy look to the blond warrior.

"You...speak strong, fight strong, KILL strong." She took another step forward, her hands reaching out to her back, untying the sheet that covered her torso, Finn didn't need to think long to know where she was heading.

"Jungle Princess, please, I-" Before Finn could object further, the princess suddenly pulled her arms from behind her, looking sullen and ashamed, her face turning violet.

"No, not now. Not needed. Wait for later. You go, come back later. We do it later." The turqoise princess dipped her head down. "Finn the Hyooman, you come back alive, to here, to me. Now go, we not hurt you anymore." She stood back up and sat back down on her throne.

"And what of my possessions? And the Morrow? Where are they?" The warrior responded, relieved the situation didn't get to out of hand.

"You mean your bird? Your things with it, no harm done. I no see why you no eat it. Lots of good meat on it." She replied nonchalantly, almost saddened to see the boy go. With a slow nod and turn of his feet, the boy turned his back onto the palace and it's denizens.

The familiar cawing of the Morrow was a warming site as the giant bird ran up to Finn outside of the stone building. Two men walked along with the winged creature, carrying Finn's backpack and clothing.

"Princess says you good. If Princess says so, then I say so too!" One of them said, patting Finn on the back and handing over his bag. "Everything as it was, sorry for before. If everyone strong like you, maybe we all get along someday, eh?" The bird wailed as it's handlers released the grip on it and it circled the group, stretching out it's appendages once again. "You fly on this thing? Something this big we eat, must be a hyooman thing I guess." He laughed to himself as Finn continued to dress, never believing he could feel this good about wearing a set of clothes before. "If you need anything, Finn the Hyooman, anything, come back to us. We help you right!" Finn nodded as he jumped onto the back of the Morrow, giving a smile and nod, ready to leave.

Finn didn't know why, but for some reason, his head looked to the left. No reason, just a sudden jerk, no signal to do so and no given command from his brain, it just happened. Off in the brush, a drill machine with the mark of the Candy Kingdom's insignia marked on the side was perched up against a wall of rock, sitting idly. The words of the old candy corn scientist from before penetrated his thoughts.

"_If you can get close enough to these machines and set off that switch, you can send the core into a meltdown, and detonate this entire freakish landscape into a massive crater!...You'd have about five or so minutes from the tests I conducted with the failsafe. If you forgot to grab anything before activating it, you'd best hope you didn't need whatever it'd be."_ Finn dismounted the bird and made his way over to the machine. A sign labeled WARNING was neatly plastered onto the side, declaring the highly volatile and explosive hazard of operating the machine poorly. It was all the information Finn needed to throw open the hood of the drill and peak in. Neatly tucked in between the tubes and mechanical parts lay a softly green glowing core encased in a glass tube; the power source of the drill.

"The obliteration of an entire species of people. Could it really be THAT simple?" Finn thought in his head. Upon further inspection, a series of twisted wires lead in and out of the tube, behind these wires was a small red button.

"WARNING: FAILSAFE BUTTON. PRESSING OF BUTTON ALONG WITH STARTING OF THE IGNITION TO THIS VESSEL WILL CAUSE CATOSTROPHIC RADIATION CORE TO GO OFF. ALL PERSONAL ARE TO BE ADVISED IF FAILSAFE PROCEDURE HAS STARTED. ALL PERSONAL HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO EVACUATE A FIVE MILE RADIUS BEFORE CORE ERUPTS. FAILURE TO FOLLOW SAFETY PROCEDURE WILL RESULT IN INSTANT DEATH, SEVERE RADIATION BURNS, RADIATION MUTATION, AND SLIGHT HEARING LOSS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT NEAREST SAFETY ADVISOR."

The lettering made Finn swallow a lump of fear in his throat. He checked in the driver's seat to see the keys were in the ignition, they just needed to be turned and the button to be pressed for the failsafe to start.

Finn thought for a quick moment before shaking his head and removing the keys from the ignition.

"One act of violence cannot be justified for another; genocide is no exception. I'd be a hypocrite if I let this happen." Stuffing the keys into his pocket, he returned to the Morrow and perched himself upright onto it's back. "Come on Morrow, let's get out of here." The bird responded with a flap of it's wings and a powerful squawk as the pair shot into the air, leaving behind their former prison. Finn took one last glance at the swamp before it soon became a shriveling spec on the horizon; an island consumed by an ocean of sand.

...

The Morrow swooped down gently onto the steps of the candy castle, it's sugary pillars standing just as strong as always.

"Morrow, I don't know what I would've done without you. Thank you." Finn said, patting the giant bird on the head. It nuzzled Finn's cheek with it's beak before crying out and flying away once again. The hero couldn't get into the castle fast enough. He checked to make sure he had everything he needed in his satchel before proceeding into the throne room. A circle of castle guards surrounded a rather hysteric Princess Bubblegum, who seemed to be swept up in whatever was going on.

"...if it means having to move units away from the village then so be it! The patrols there can defend the villagers just as well, I'm not giving up hope on Finn just yet!" The candy ruler exclaimed to the head guard, indicated by the red plumes of hair on top of his helmet. Each soldier bore the kingdom's insignia on their shields and breastplates, the same one Finn saw on the drilling machine back in the swamp.

"Your Highness, we have not had communication with the boy in almost three days. If we don't reach him soon, then I have bitter hopes in him ever returning." He retaliated, his voice deep and grooding. "Even less in a search team even finding anything." The Princess's stared in disgust at him.

"How DARE you! You come in here and insist I move kingdom troops to a little set of houses in the middle of nowhere just because of some petty theories of yours. THEN you have the nerve to say that one of the greatest warriors that the Candy Kingdom, that I have ever known, is perished? Get the HELL out of my throne room, Antonius! Before I have your ass hung from the gallows for insubordination!" She stormed, alarming the group of soldiers. The knight's helmet only showed the reflection of spiteful anger as he turned to his accomplices.

"Very well, then _Your Highness_. We shall take our leave and discuss this...on another day." A wave of his arm signaled the others into forming a perfect filed line and exiting through a side door, giving Finn the opportunity to finally speak out.

"P-Princess?" The girl's expression seemed to completely change. Her amazement quickly replaced her anger, and utter joy replacing that. She nearly leaped over to the boy and embraced him tightly.

"Finn! I refused to believe something happened to you! I knew you would persevere, I just knew it! How did my mesh weave hold up? I was always bad with sewing and I worried that something might have happened because I couldn't sew a stitch together properl-! Finn!" She was cut off as the hero hushed her with a quick smooch on the mouth. The two made to get closer before the princess reeled back, gagging and clamping her nose shut. "Hehe, you smell like swamp. Bad." Finn blushed and rubbed his arm.

Yeah, about that..."

It took a while for Finn to explain the events that unfolded during the past two days. Him finding the camp, the doctor's message and the attack from the tribals. His kidnapping and him being forced to fight off the giant albino beast for his freedom. He also explained that they were also ruled under a monarchy similar to the ones in the more modern civilizations of surrounding lands.

"This is all...overwhelming. I guess this means the excavation part of the project is a total bust then. If we had proper intel on native life and species in the area, we could've proceeded with better caution than what we did. But at least with the computer, we can continue with the projects already in progress in the labs. The victims' families shall be notified of their losses as well. We will hold a public memorial for them. Thank you, Finn. For everything you did to make sure this info made it back to us, thank you so much." The Princess said sorrowfully. She hugged Finn tightly once again, disregarding the swampy scent and kissed him on the mouth. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear, before letting go.

Finn bowed his head graciously. Seeing the girl he was so attracted to smile because of him made all his effort worth it. He was happy to be back where he belonged, and knew others were just as happy he was as well.

He was home.


End file.
